Española Valley High School reopened its Edward Medina Gymnasium with a volleyball team practice on Friday after closing for final renovations and repairs.
The renovation includes a new floor design, which features a pitchfork logo at the center and a stencil outline for Española Valley. The ends of the basketball floor under the basket now have flames in a gray outline. The floor keeps the signature from Del Valdez.
The gym was damaged in a November 2021 fire caused by the speaker system, which caused major damage to the floor and smoke damage to the walls and throughout the building.
The school managed to patch up the gym by mid December for use during the school year with a temporary sound system and courtside scoreboard. The floor had noticeable spots in it and no logo at center court.
A new scoreboard had been installed by the July “Space Jam Cam” Tournament, replacing the broken center-court one in favor of a newer pair at either end of the floor.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reported in July that the floor replacement — which cost the district $7,259 as the new design was not covered by insurance — might have to wait until after the 2022-23 school year. But the school was able to make replacements in time.
The gym will host Española volleyball when it plays Belen on Tuesday.